


Nightfall in Osaka

by ryukoishida



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 13:37:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9074290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryukoishida/pseuds/ryukoishida
Summary: Christmas Eve, supposedly a romantic day for couples which also happens to be the day right before the start of the Japanese National Championships in Osaka, finds Viktor Nikiforov, coach and fiancé of GPF silver medalist Yuuri Katsuki, trying to distract the skater by dragging him around the city in an attempt of a romantic date. Written for Yuri On Ice Holiday Exchange 2016





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Harlequinade13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harlequinade13/gifts).



> Based on the fact that the Japanese National Championships will actually be taking place during the Christmas weekend this year; I’m sorry I can’t do romantic dates without making it too cliché jfc.

Stormy.

 

That’s the only adjective Viktor can use to describe Yuuri’s current mood as the skater fails to land another Quad Salchow, a hand darting out to catch himself before he completely falls.

 

It’s one of the few jumps that Yuuri is gradually gaining a good grasp on, and he has always landed it with confidence during the past few competitions. There must be something in his mind, Viktor ventures with narrowed eyes, a gloved finger moving instinctively towards his mouth and tapping his lower lip thoughtfully.

 

The frustration is clearly written in the firm purse of Yuuri’s lips and the dark defiance of his eyes, the usual warm brown almost glowing red under the blinding white lights of the arena.

 

Many of the skaters have already left the rink close to the end of the sanctioned practice session, but a few have remained on the ice, making use of the last bit of time to squeeze in a few more jumps or choreography run-through.

 

Among the few skaters that remain – most of them a few years younger and are still attending college or high school – Minami Kenjirou, all bright grins, enthusiastic attitude, and blond and red hair a stark contrast against the white-blue aesthetics of the arena, is cheerfully chatting with Yuuri, who at least allows a small smile to slip past his lips as he answers.

 

Viktor can’t tell what they’re talking about, but the tension along Yuuri’s shoulders doesn’t dissipate, and he knows he has to do something before tomorrow’s competition lest whatever’s eating at Yuuri’s mind consumes him like it has in the past.

 

He doesn’t want to see him fall apart like that again, not now when they’re finally standing side-by-side as equals, competing against each other on the world stage, supporting each other as fellow competitors as well as partners off the ice.

 

“Yuuri!” Viktor waves the dark-haired skater over with a shout that echoes, and Yuuri glides over to him with an easy grace, cheeks tainted with a hint of pink and head tilted to the side with a silent question. He places his hands over the rounded top of the rink board, fingers curling against the plastic, and Viktor laces their fingers together without a second thought, their matching rings gleaming and a constant reminder of the promise they made to each other two weeks ago at the Grand Prix Finals.   

 

“You’ve got something on your mind,” Viktor doesn’t even bother phrasing it as a question.

 

“I do not,” Yuuri insists, brows drawn into a frown and he looks away to the side, forelocks falling into his eyes and hiding any emotions behind it.

 

“You haven’t been able to land a single Quad Salchow cleanly in the last hour,” Viktor reminds him softly, voice never unkind as his fingers tighten around his fiancé’s, “something’s bothering you, and you won’t tell me.”

 

He hasn’t intended to make the words sound so accusing, but Yuuri must have interpreted them as such anyway, given the way he’s twisting his body away from Viktor’s.

 

“It’s just jet-lag,” Yuuri says, his tone flat and hardly convincing, “you know how it is.”

 

It’s probably true, Viktor surmises, to a degree. After the GPFs, there was no time to take a break: Viktor announced his comeback to competitive skating and had begun making preparations for the Russian Nationals at the end of the month, and Yuuri decided to stay in St. Petersburg to train for the time being. This arrangement seems to be the easiest option for the both of them, and neither can imagine being miles away from each other anymore.   

 

Yuuri begins to pull away, but Viktor persists, lowering his head to speak directly into the other man’s ear as his warm breaths graze against dark turfs of hair and the sensitive skin there, “If you insist on being stubborn, then I have no other choice. Go get changed.”

 

Viktor takes a step back, smile bright and blue eyes even brighter; Yuuri is wary about whatever Viktor has clearly already planned out and he’s almost afraid to ask.

 

When Yuuri disappears behind the door of the men’s locker room, Viktor whips out his phone and begins to feverishly tap on the keyboard and scroll his screen, eyes focused and teeth chewing on lower lip in concentration.

 

About half an hour later, they’re standing on the platform of Kadoma-Minami Station, waiting for the train to arrive. The underground station is packed with people leaving from work and on their way home; the cacophonous symphony of people talking on their mobiles, the announcements over the PA system, and the whirring of distant trains are almost too much, and Yuuri finds himself subconsciously leaning closer to Viktor’s taller frame when Viktor wordlessly entwines their fingers together in a loose grasp.

 

Yuuri glances up at him with startled eyes, wishing to pull away because _what if people saw_?

 

“It’s fine,” Viktor reassures him with a smile, somehow softer than his usual one – more gentle. And they stand like this silently in the middle of a controlled maelstrom of people, waiting.

 

When they manage to get on the crowded train, both men having been pushed uncomfortably close against one corner, Yuuri finally asks, “Dare I ask where we’re going?”

 

“It’s a secret,” Viktor replies in a sing-song tone, which only makes Yuuri’s frown deepen.

 

“If we’re going shopping again…”

 

“What do you have against shopping?” Viktor sounds genuinely offended, “It’s relaxing!”

 

“For you, maybe,” Yuuri mutters, but he can’t help but let a small, amused smile graze his lips.

 

Three more stops spent in silence means three more stops of breathing in each other’s scent and heartbeats gradually slowing down as they get used to the proximity, Yuuri’s thoughts churning in a restless cycle until it calms, until he can find the right words to say.

 

“Hey, Viktor,” he starts, uncertain, chocolate-brown eyes staring at Viktor’s coat lapels.

 

“Yes?” he leans in a degree closer, mostly because the noise of the train is drowning out Yuuri’s softer voice but also because he likes the way Yuuri’s cheeks burn with heat whenever he invades his personal place just a little.

 

“So I know you said you didn’t really want anything in particular for your birthday, but I still want to do something for you,” Yuuri steals a glance at Viktor before his gaze darts downward again, “And a gold medal at the Japanese Nationals may not be the same thing as a GPF title…”

 

Viktor leans back as far as he can, a hand covering his mouth as he lets out a muffled chuckle, “Is that what you were worrying about during practice earlier?”

 

“I know you’ll laugh at me…” Yuuri grumbles.

 

“No, no, it’s very endearing…” Viktor is still grinning when he removes his hand from his mouth and presses it against the glass panel beside Yuuri’s head, the Crow’s feet at the end of his eyes deepening, “…very you, Yuuri.”

 

“You’re still laughing…”

 

“Not at you. To be honest, I’m actually quite relieved.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I thought it might be something more serious, something worst – like…” Viktor’s mind immediately flashes back to the evening after the GPF short program, the cruel, calm way Yuuri was able to say farewell, the frustrated tears that welled and blurred his vision for the first time in years, momentarily blinding him and catching him off guard. He forces himself to stop and continues in an upbeat voice, “Well, never mind that now. If you must really insist on giving me something for my birthday, I do have an idea or two.”

 

"Yeah?" Yuuri stands up a bit straighter.

 

"Go on a date with me. The only rule is that you'll have to let me choose the activities and locations, and you're not allowed to complain."

 

Yuuri pauses as Viktor looks at him expectantly, cerulean eyes glimmering, almost as if he’s scheming if Yuuri’s reading his expression correctly.

 

"T-that's it? That's all you want?"

 

" _You_ are all I want," Viktor corrects smoothly.

 

"And you're embarrassing," Yuuri counters with a hint of pink to his cheeks.

 

"Nuh-uh, no complaining," Viktor chides him, flicking him lightly on the nose.

 

"It was a compliment...sort of,” Yuuri laughs before he asks in a more cautious voice, “What's our first stop, then?"

 

"Since you wouldn't let me buy you a new suit when we were in Barcelona, I thought we can do that now instead!" The light in Viktor’s eyes is absolutely dazzling now, and Yuuri may or may not be regretting giving Viktor the power to decide on appropriate date spots for the evening.  

 

"You're definitely taking advantage of this, aren't you?"

 

"Well, you offered so nicely."

 

"All right, let's get this over with," Yuuri sighs.

 

"This will be fun, and you'll look gorgeous at the banquet - I promise."

 

This is how they end up at Namba Walk, an underground shopping mall directly linked to Namba Station that boasts of many trendy boutiques and coffee shops.

 

Viktor seems to know exactly what he’s looking for, because the moment they step out of the station, he’s dragging Yuuri with determined steps towards their destination, and for the next hour or so, the two men are inside GINZA Global Style, a store that apparently sells high-quality yet stylish suits at reasonable prices.

 

“At least according to Google,” Viktor adds as he picks out two ties and compares the slight difference in hues of the fabric, turning them this way and that before he deems both unqualified and returns them to the rack of ties arranged in a spectrum of rainbow colours.

 

“Is this really what you want us to do on our date night, on Christmas Eve?” Yuuri looks around warily at the rows of suits, wool sweaters, leather shoes, and button-down shirts organized neatly along the modernistic black and white walls and bronze-framed glass display windows. “Are you even enjoying yourself? Wait, forget I asked that.”

 

“I’m having the time of my life,” Viktor croons happily as he shuffles his fiancé into one of the changing rooms at the back of the store. The clerk has already hung the few suits that Viktor has chosen onto a rack inside, and as the silver-haired man locks the door behind him, Yuuri glares accusingly at Viktor through the reflection of the mirror.

 

Viktor Nikiforov is definitely planning something – most likely something Yuuri will not approve of for the sake of public decency.

 

“What are you doing, Viktor?”

 

“Providing assistance?” he tries, his silver forelocks doing nothing to hide the mischievous glint.

 

“I can put on a suit by myself without your help, thank you very much, now will you please––” he doesn’t even get to finish his sentence before he feels his back hit the mirror with a dull thud, and Viktor’s mesmerizing eyes swimming too close in his field of vision as his fingers grip Yuuri’s chin, firm enough that the other man won’t be able to escape, his lips close enough so that warm breaths graze against his cheek.

 

“Yuuri, you promised,” Viktor elongates the syllable in his fiancé’s name with the soft, saccharine tone that he knows will melt down Yuuri’s defense, and he’s not disappointed as he senses the other man’s arms wrapping lightly around his waist, darkened, hooded eyes staring back up at him through darker fringes.

 

“And you’re not playing fair,” Yuuri points out without much ire, one hand snaking up to the back of Viktor’s neck and pulling him down for a brief, close-mouthed kiss that leaves the Russian skater breathless and craving for more.

 

“Tease,” Viktor murmurs, lips running along Yuuri’s jawline before he gets pushed away with insistent arms.

 

“I learn from the best,” Yuuri replies with a grin, the only feature that betrays how fast his heart is racing from the kiss being the rosy stain on his cheeks.

 

Suffice it to say that the shopping trip has lasted a little longer than they have expected, so by the time they step outside once more, the sky is completely dark, but the streetlights, dizzying neon signs of shops and Christmas decorative lights on commercial buildings make the city even more festive and alive. Couples fill the sidewalks as they walk hand-in-hand with their partners without a care in the world, their attention solely on their loved ones; Viktor and Yuuri walk amongst them, arms brushing every so often, their hands laden with shopping bags.  

 

Viktor chooses the location for dinner as well – an Italian restaurant at the top floor of Swissotel Nankai that looks overly-priced, and Yuuri is about to open his mouth but one delicately-raised eyebrow from Viktor efficiently shuts him up as their finely-dressed hostess leads them to a table by the window.

 

The ambience alone is probably worth the amount Yuuri is afraid of imagining Viktor is ready to pay for this dinner: the windows provide a stunning panoramic view of downtown Osaka; the domed ceiling is panelled with square-framed glass; and though the sky is polluted by city lights, the sight is still beautiful, especially when glass bulbs of strung lights hang suspended like fireflies as the restaurant’s centerpiece, capturing the attention of all the patrons.  

 

Of course, Viktor has made certain that it’s also a place that serves food that Yuuri can safely enjoy before a competition. While Viktor sips at his rosé wine and Yuuri marvels at the bubbly strawberry-passion fruit limonata, they chat quietly as they wait for their food, and soon Yuuri forgets the slight discomfort of dining in an unfamiliar and expensive restaurant.

 

The fact that Viktor keeps playfully bumping his leg against his fiancé’s under the table and the not-so-subtle intention behind this almost childish gesture doesn’t escape Yuuri’s notice, either. He just keeps sending Viktor warning glances that the other man plainly ignores with another disarming smile.

 

The streets look more deserted after dinner, and Yuuri is about to suggest that they return to the hotel.

 

“One last stop before we go back?” Viktor requests with pleading eyes not unlike Makkachin’s adorable gaze when he desperately wants treats from them.

 

“Fine,” Yuuri laughs at the ridiculous expression that Viktor is making.

 

It isn’t a long walk to their destination.

 

Yuuri figures it’s another mall in the heart of the city as they stroll through the section of the building that looks like it has been carved into a canyon; the brown and beige stripes along the outside walls are lighted up in vibrant hues of blue and white spotlights that reflect prettily off the glass windows.

 

He can’t imagine there are more things that Viktor needs to shop for at this time of night.

 

“Not a word until we’re there,” Viktor says as if he’s read the other man’s mind, and he takes Yuuri’s hand into his as he quickens his pace, and Yuuri has to hurry to catch up.

 

They walk past a gigantic electric Christmas tree-shaped display that changes colours every few seconds and through a tunnel of blue fairy lights that leads them to an uphill path away from the shopping crowds and into the more secluded sections of the mall.  

 

Glass and concrete gives way to winter shrubbery and trees with their branches and thin foliage entwined in white fairy lights that look like shimmering snowflakes that never melt. Most of the trees are illuminated from the bottom with neon-coloured limelight that makes Yuuri feel like they’re in the middle of an aurora storm; it’s almost dizzying, the way they glow so bright and unafraid, the way his heart thrums restless and full when Viktor tugs him closer.

 

There’s nothing natural about this overly-festive display, yet as Viktor stops by the railing that overlooks the western part of the city, and twinkling white lights from the branches above them gleam and cast an angelic glow over his silver hair, Yuuri knows that there’s no place he’d rather be than to be here with the man standing before him.

 

Osaka is nothing like Hasetsu or St. Petersburg; it has none of Hasetsu’s old town aesthetics nor does it have St. Petersburg’s sultry port charm, but this isle of man-made greenery within the city’s concrete forest and iron skyscrapers is a small breath of fresh air nonetheless, and for the briefest of moments, Yuuri can relax, his mind blank of the upcoming competition and expectations placed upon him after the Grand Prix series.

 

The dark-haired skater leans out from the railing to take a better look at the scenery, but before long, he feels himself being pulled back into a tight embrace, Viktor’s arms encircling his frame from behind and his face buried into the crook of Yuuri’s neck as he breathes him in.

 

Yuuri’s body stiffens from habit, but when he remembers where he is and how they haven’t run into another person on their way up this path, he allows the tension in his muscles to melt under Viktor’s touch and he leans back fully into his fiancé’s chest, breathing out a shuddering sigh.

 

“This is a pretty good spot to end our date,” Yuuri admits with a teasing smile after a moment.

 

“Romantic, right?” Viktor chimes in, placing a delicate kiss just beneath Yuuri’s ear.

 

“Clichély so,” Yuuri agrees with a small laugh, and his body shakes within Viktor’s arms.

 

A warm, pleasant trail of flames runs from the center of his palm where he’s covering Yuuri’s hands and up his bloodstreams, fueled by the wine he has had earlier, and makes his heart flutter and bloom and sing, like so many times it has before whenever Yuuri does something that surprises him, made him smile like all the weight has been lifted from his being or made him sob uncontrollably like the world is ending.

 

From the moment they meet, to their reunion in Hasetsu, and within the eight months they’ve spent together, one thing has become very clear to Viktor: there are times when that emotion threatens to smother him and force him to burst out with words he knows he’s not ready to surrender, the insecurity of feeling like Yuuri might slip away from him again a constant battle he fights within himself, but now… at this very moment, when he can feel the solid presence of Yuuri in his arms, and the matching golden rings that signify a lifelong promise, Viktor thinks he’s finally ready.

 

“Hey, Yuuri…”

 

“Hmm?” Yuuri turns around to face him and places his arms on his shoulders like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

 

His smile is open and gentle, and Viktor swears he can almost taste the potent warmth in his eyes, generous and kind and loving.   

 

“Я люблю тебя всей душой,” Viktor says, eyes unwavering as he lets the syllables and sentiment roll off his tongue as easily as he carries himself on the ice.

 

“Viktor, you know I’m still learning,” Yuuri begins to say with a confused frown, but he doesn’t get to complain more because Viktor is kissing him, a fervent attempt at swallowing any words that Yuuri is about to say, and Yuuri finds that he doesn’t mind it at all because he thinks he already knows.

 

Because he feels the same.

**Author's Note:**

> It somehow turns into a confession even though they’ve been basically together for months now, LOL whut. I do not know Russian at all and has no time to check with anyone other than Google, so if I made mistakes, please let me know!
> 
> Я люблю тебя всей душой = I love you with all my soul. 
> 
> I also did a lot of location research, so here’s a list of places they went to:  
> \- Namihaya Dome (where previous Japanese National Championships had taken place): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namihaya_Dome  
> \- Namba Walk: http://walk.osaka-chikagai.jp/en/  
> \- GINZA Global Style: http://www.global-style.jp/archives/shopmap/nambawalk  
> \- Tavola 36 at Swissotel Nankai: http://www.yoninja.com/jp/japan/food-drinks/2179/tavola-36-osaka  
> \- Namba Parks: https://japanbook.net/en/article/702


End file.
